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Saturday, November 16, 2013

Nichkhun makes fans aflutter, helps typhoon victims at fun meet

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin

When boy band 2PM member Nichkhun
arrived in the Philippines last Nov. 7, Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name
“Haiyan”) was already threatening the Visayas region with storm signal warning
raised to No. 4, the highest level.

2PM’s Nichkhun and his fans at the BENCHSETTER Fun Meet. (Photos courtesy of BENCH’s Instagram and Philippine K-pop Committee’s Twitter)

Nichkhun held his BENCHSETTER Fun Meet
at TriNoma and SM Mall of Asia on Nov. 9, a day after the typhoon wrecked the
Visayas area.

Besides spending time with his fans,
the singer and actor used the opportunity at his fun meet to help the typhoon
victims by signing BENCH t-shirts that will be auctioned off.

At the fun meet, fans got the chance to
be up close with Nichkhun, played games with him and had the opportunity to get
his autograph.

Fans from other countries also came to
the Philippines just to attend the fun meet.

Screaming fans greeted Nichkhun as the
star appeared on stage at the two venues. Some waited for hours just to see the
popular star.

Bulletin Entertainment got the reactions of fans who
attended the fun meet and experienced to be with Nichkhun.

“Total fangirl today. He is a charming
boy. Said I was Gigi noona, wrote my name, drew a heart and said this is my
heart!” said Gigi D. Melodias.

Hermione Chelsea Visto, 11, said
playing a game with Nichkhun was awesome.

“Being chosen to play a game with
Nichkhun was so unexpected. I was just there to watch his fan meet and did not
expect that I would pick the stub that said ‘contestant.’ I’m a self-confessed
2PM fan and even watched their concert last March. It was awesome!” she said.

Tracy Ramos, admin of Nichkhun PH, and
her daughter Jhazzel were picked for the meet-and-greet.

“I have been a big fan of 2PM’s
Nichkhun for three years now so I wouldn’t miss this chance. While in the midst
of running and taking the train bringing fan materials to MOA from Trinoma, all
I can think of is what awaited me. All the effort was definitely worth it,”
Ramos said.

She added, “We were the first to be
called for the meet-and-greet with Khunnie. Jhazzel, four-year-old 2PM fan, was
holding LO2PM Khun fan. As she approached Khun he wore a big smile on his face
and said, “You are so cute. What’s your name?” My daughter was overwhelmed by
finally seeing Khun in person that she could not answer.

“Khun touched her face like a loving brother
it was so heartwarming. I was already going out of my senses, seeing him
finally and then I took off NichkhunPH’s baller and said, “Khun this is for
you” and quickly told him it’s part of PH Hottests’ many projects for him and
2PM. He held his arm out to me so I would be the one to put the baller on him,
then he said “I know.” All his other words drowned in my head already as he
looked at me full of sincerity. I had to compose myself because learning that
he knows what we do for him is the greatest reward that we can ever get,” Ramos
added.

“When the news of Khun coming back to
Manila was confirmed, I was ecstatic. We had been waiting for this event since
their concert last March. I was one of the lucky fans chosen to be part of the
meet-and-greet session. His face is really angelic. He even misspelled my name
when he signed my poster but he said ‘aaahhh’ when I corrected him. The
experience was really ‘daeBUCK!’ said Dithie, admin of Hottest Society.

Fan Vannessa Regina had the opportunity
to show Nichkhun her tattoo.

“I was the last girl for the signing,
so i had to make the most out of it. As I approached the table, I said ‘Hi’ and
he replied, ‘Hi, Vannessa right?’ I said ‘yes’ and then I told him about the
tattoo. I turned my back, people started screaming and (I showed it to him).
Then we shook hands. I was holding his hands so tight that i didn’t want to let
go. Then I said, “Thank you, hope you enjoyed your stay here, I love you.’ He
said, ‘Thank you.’

Fan Dithie said she was ecstatic when
she learned that Nichkhun’s visit to Manila was confirmed.

Yvette, another Hottest Society admin,
said, “D-Day. I was up since 5AM to prepare for the fun meet. I really wanted
to see Khun again. That’s how I missed 2PM since their March concert in Manila.
Although Khun apologized because I could not hug him during the meet-and-greet
part of the show, he held out his hand to shake hands with me.”

“Arriving at the venue eight hours
before the fun meet was worth it because meeting fellow Hottests was always a
delight,” said Lianne, graphics admin of Hottest Society.

Hottest Society head admins Ryan and
Lai said, “The meet and greet event was conducted through draw lots and luckily
and five admins of Hottest Society were lucky enough to see Nickhun up close.
We were so blessed.”

Jessica, Hottest Society founder, said,
“I’ve been a Khun ‘stan’ for three years and I was really looking forward to
Nichkhun’s Benchsetter Fun Meet and it’s all that I could talk about at work
and at home. Nichkhun was all I could think about. I represent Hottest Society
in One Hottest PH, which also includes 2PM Philippines and 2OneDay
Philippines.”

“We started preparing for projects for
Nichkhun and freebies for our fellow Filipino Hottests like the banners,
calendars, stickers and bubbles even before Bench’s announcement because we
wanted Nichkhun to feel the warmth of Filipinos,” she said.

She added, “I am one of the lucky
Hottests who snagged a meet-and-greet pass. I was walking towards Nichkhun
wearing angel wings and he told me, ‘You’re an angel.’ I said ‘You’re an angel,
too’ and he gave me his sweetest smile. My whole Nichkhun experiece last Nov. 9
at Trinoma is something that I will never ever forget. Epic! I don’t have
pictures or fancams but the memories will always be in my heart and I hope that
he’ll be ‘BUCK’ soon.”